Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-12-23
Awful Calamity.
MILLIONS OF MONGOLIANS SWEPT FROM
THE EARTH.

iii| E-fhih
SAN Francisco, Dec. l2-The steam
ship Citg Of Sidney arrived in this
city this afternoon from Hong Kong
and Yokohama. The Chinese papers
give details of the disaster occasioned
bv the Yellow river overllowlng Its
banks in the province of Honau and
describes it as one of the most appal-
ling occurrences in the loss Of life and
property recorded in recent times.
The river broke its banks on the even
ing of September % and not only
completely inundated that city, but
also ten other populous cities. The
whole area is now a raging sea ten to
twenty feet deep where it was dense
" populated and rich plain and the
former bed of the Yellow river is now
dry. The present lake was the bed OF
the river centuries ago. The loss OF
life is incalculable. A statement is
made by the missionaries that millions
of Chinese are homeless and starving.
Thomas Haton, one of the American
missionaries, writing from Honau
province under date OF October IS,
says: "The newly gathered crops,
herbs and trees are all swept away,
involving a fearful loss of life. The
country was covered with fine winter
grain, which is gone, and implies Il
complete obstruction of next years
CROP" Brcad,"" bread" is the cry
of thousands who are on the river
banks. The benevolent go in boats
and throw bread among the masses
of people and is still being increased
bv the continual arrivals even more
hungry than the last. There they sit,
stunned, hungry and detected, with
ont n rag to wear or il morsel of food to
eat. Mat huts are being erected for
them to the west of this, but what it
will be in two months can't conceive.
The misery is increasing, owing to bit
ter cold weather.
The Yellow river has long been
known as China's sorrow and the
present disaster has served to reassert
its right to the terrible title. While
the details OF the disaster are very
meagre, it has occurred in Il district
where but few foreigners are, and re-
ports furnished by officials and pub
lished in the Pekin Gazette, convey n
very inadequate idea of the extent &
the loss Of life and property and the
suiierings of the survivors. The gov
ernor in Honau reports to the throne
that nearly all the people have been
drowned in the district reached by
water, the survivors being those who
escaped to the high ground or took
IcluSc III VIC tAtcc, "hClc thSy ic
manned till they were rescued. This
gives but little impression rs to the eX-
tent of the disaster. The Chinese
Times states that i'll the province of
Chilli, where disastrous inundations
have also occurred, there are 27O,OOO
people homeless, representing those
whose lives were saved out Of 900
villages destroyed, and adds that the
misery in that province is trifling as
compared with that caused by the
Hoang Ho or Yellow river. The ex-
tent of the ground swept over by the
overwhelming floods given in English
figures is over 1000 square miles, and
the land thus submerged formed Il
part of one of the richest and most
densely populated plains of Northern
China. The necessity for liberal aid
may therefore be imagined. Already
considerable sum has been con-
tributed toward the relief of the suf-
ferers.
The Emperor of China has given
1900, 900 teals and the Chinese started
a subscription list in Shanghai to
which foreigners have literally con
tributcd. Millions have been rendered
homeless and entirely deprived of al
chance OF earning livlihood, for theil
fields will either become a permanent
lake or an uninhabitable swamp. Il
is feared that the distress which viii
be felt during the coming winter viii
equal in intensity the famine of teI
years ago, when the charitable do
nations contributed from all parts o
the world were utterly inadequate. /
is stated that owing to the action taker
by the Yellow river it no longer flow
toward the sea, but seems content il
converting eastern Honau and north
ern Nganwhim into lake. 1t ma!
ultimately flow into the sea through
the Kiangsu or it may possibly jOiI
the Yangtsge.
A CURIOUS DIsCOvERY.-In the tar
tar of teeth from skeletons of the ston